Managing Old Town Parking - More bridge work - PC gets big picture - diabetes month

Too much parking enforcement? Or not enough?

Florence City Manager Bob Willoughby is looking for some answers. Over the past few weeks City Hall has heard from residents, business owners and employees of businesses in Old Town Florence. The complaints have been about parking… but, the only problem from Willoughby’s perspective is that some of the complaints are about not enough parking enforcement… and still others have been about too much enforcement.
200 – “Well these things are all inconsistent… so we’re going to invite people who live or work or shop in Old Town to come to a meeting.”

Both meetings will be tomorrow at City Hall… one at eight AM, the other later in the afternoon.
201 – “So people that, because of their schedule can’t make a 4:30 meeting, could can come at eight. Both of the meetings are in the City Council Chambers at City Hall.

Willoughby says with tight budgets he wants to make sure city resources are being spent where they’re most effective. If there’s a groundswell of support for fewer parking restrictions, he’ll talk to the council about changing codes; likewise, if the consensus is for more enforcement. If the message is mixed, it’s likely the same efforts will continue.

Another round of brief traffic delays will occur over the Siuslaw River this evening as crews continue preparations for installation of new draw span lock components. Oregon Department of Transportation crews will be aligning the movable bridge ‘bascule’ spans between seven and 11 pm tonight. The work is part of the $5.3-million repair and modernization project that is nearly complete.

The Florence Planning Commission will consider action tonight that could allow them to look at the ‘big picture’ in a different way. Before the Commission is a proposal that would change the Mural Advisory Committee to a separate Mural Board. The panel would still advise the Planning Commission and Design Review Board about Murals, but would be structured differently than the current system. The commission is being asked to approve the beginning of the process tonight. It would ultimately go before the City Council for final action.

About 24-million children and adults in the United States live with diabetes, and nearly twice that are at risk of contracting the disease. And, say diabetes educators, about one in three children born today in the US will face a future with diabetes if trends don’t change. November is diabetes awareness month. Health care professionals are reaching out with information on how to prevent the disease as well as how to live with it. PeaceHealth Diabetes Educator Joan Taber Skarda says they’ll be at Safeway tomorrow from 11 to three with information about the disease. Skarda will be at Fred Meyer at the same times on Thursday. Then again next week at Siuslaw Public Library.

Here is the latest Oregon news from The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A 23-month-old boy was critically injured
after a vehicle struck three pedestrians near a Portland
intersection. Police say the boy's father and another man were also
struck shortly before noon Monday by the vehicle driven by a man
between 70 and 80 years old. Portland Police Bureau crash
investigators say everybody involved was taken to the hospital,
including the driver. No names were immediately released.

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - A white supremacist from Oregon has been
sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to charges
he mailed a hangman's noose to a civil rights leader in Ohio. A
federal judge in Toledo also ordered yesterday that Daniel Lee
Jones of Portland, Ore., be under three years of supervised
release.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The FBI says it recovered three girls in a
child sex trafficking sting operation that resulted in prostitution
charges against 19 adults in the Portland area. FBI agents say they
worked with more than a dozen other local and federal agencies in
the Portland and Vancouver, Wash., metro area to run the sting last
Thursday through Saturday. The FBI says Operation Cross Country 5
has recovered 69 children nationally.

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Amtrak is adding 11 more trains between
Seattle, Wash., and Portland for the Thanksgiving weekend.
Washington's Department of Transportation says that means 19 trains
will be running between the two cities from Wednesday, Nov. 25
through Sunday, Nov. 28. The Thanksgiving holiday usually is
Amtrak's busiest travel period of the year.

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) - The University of Oregon's monthly index of
economic indicators improved a bit in September as job growth in
the state remained weak. A university economist says the uptick was
partly because initial jobless claims fell sharply to their lowest
levels since March.

COOS BAY, Ore. (AP) - Their families survived a military
extermination campaign. Now, members of the Confederated Tribes of
the Lower Rogue hope they survive a trip through bureaucracy to
restore federal recognition. Their application is making slow
progress while congressional staffers assess their needs.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A new cougar cub goes on public display
Thursday at the Oregon Zoo.
Since it was born Sept. 19, the cub has lived in a maternity den
with its mother, Chinook.
The cub now weighs 9 pounds and will be allowed out in the
cougar exhibit.
Keepers at the Portland zoo describe the cub as "brave and
feisty."

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

TAKING A LOOK INTO COAST RADIO SPORTS:

Athlete of the Week:
Siuslaw Cross Country standout Matthew Campbell is Coast Radio Sports Athlete of the Week. The Viking Sophomore finished ninth overall at the OSAA 4A State Cross Country Finals last week to pace his teammates to a second place trophy.

Honorable Mention goes to Viking Running Back Sonny Tupua who carried the ball 31 times for 183 yards and two touchdowns in Siuslaw’s ‘play-in’ victory over Hidden Valley.